Typical August heat may not be here, but a familiar football sound could be heard across the area Thursday.

Pads popped at high school practice fields as teams donned full pads for the first time Thursday – one more sign that football season is a step closer.

Teams could wear shoulder pads starting Monday, but live tackling became part of practice as teams added their full repertoire of pads Thursday.

"It feels good to know that we went this long with really no contact, and we get to hit and put our hands on somebody – that's what we want to do," said Fair Park senior quarterback Sederrick Smith. "It's hot, but it's what we live for around here. We play football – no matter how hot or how cold it is, we're still going to play football."

High schools across the area put on full pads for the first time Monday and participated in live tackling drills
Matt Vines

Teams incorporated aspects of live tackling into their regiments, although full-on contact was still limited.

Some of the live plays involved thud hitting – players making contact with each other but not tackling to the ground.

Parkway coach David Feaster said Thursday's emphasis is on proper form tackling.

"We emphasize the safety of tackling with the head up," said Feaster, who added that the cooler temperatures makes practice more bearable for old men like himself. "With modern technology and improvements in orthopedics, there are so many areas where they are able to fix when stuff breaks.

"But they still can't fix your neck if you tackle with your head down and break it."

Byrd prides themselves on physical practices even without full pads, and coach Mike Suggs and tight end Michael Dunman said Thursday isn't much different than previous sessions.

"It's been real intense these last couple weeks even without pads, and we've been running around and getting to plays," Dunman said. "The pads are just a technicality. We like to keep it real intense and run to the ball no matter what."

Suggs added, "We've been doing blocking drills full speed with just shoulder pads ... But it's good for our guys to sweat in full pads."